Broadway’s ‘Legally Blonde’ star search comes to MTV

By Michael Kuchwara

Broadway hits reality TV to find the newest Elle Woods.

NEW YORK — Autumn. Bailey. Lauren. Natalie. Rhiannon. The competition on “Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for Elle Woods” on MTV is getting really intense, and, omigod, one of you will soon be anointed a star.

After “Grease” and NBC’s “You’re the One That I Want” last summer, Broadway has again stepped into the world of reality television — this time to find a new leading lady to replace Laura Bell Bundy as the inexhaustibly perky, pink-loving heroine of the musical now in its second year at the Palace Theatre.

Reality TV has changed the way we find pop singers, ballroom dancers, fashion designers, hair stylists, chefs and more, so why not performers who can headline a Broadway show? The popular and financial success of “Grease” — despite critical brickbats for the production itself — re-enforced the idea. In England, reality shows have found leads for productions of “The Sound of Music,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and an upcoming “Oliver!” And Canada currently is doing its own “Sound of Music” search for a Maria to star in a production opening in Toronto this fall.

Not that television would work for every show or stage role — “Medea”? Probably not. Or for Mama Rose in “Gypsy,” either. “It’s not right for every show and casting directors know it,” says “Legally Blonde” producer Hal Luftig. “When I hear people say, ‘This is going to be a trend’ ... No, it’s not.”

“The Search for Elle Woods” began on MTV in June (Mondays 10 p.m.) with the 10 finalists tearfully winnowed down in succeeding weeks. Goodbye pretty Lindsey, ambitious Cassie S., hip Celina and savvy Emma, among others. As Haylie Duff, the series’ host, solemnly intones, “An actor’s job is to face rejection.”

The episodes to weed out the excess Elles involve people from the show putting the would-be stars through their paces. Among the various challenges seen so far:

•Associate director Marc Bruni judging verbal dexterity. (You try saying “I am the mother pheasant plucker” repeatedly — and real fast.)

•Vocal coach Seth Rudetsky testing stamina as the girls sing at the top of their lungs while pedaling on stationary exercise bikes.

•Animal trainer Bill Berloni looking at their compatibility with Teddy and Boo Boo, who understudy Elle Woods’ beloved Chihuahua in the musical. Walk that dog correctly on a leash, girls.

•Associate choreographer Denis Jones having the girls wear Pepto-Bismol pink, 4-inch high heels and dance on a cobblestone street in Brooklyn.

The “Legally Blonde” journey to TV began with broadcasting the musical itself a half-dozen times on MTV last year — even while it continued to run on Broadway.

Luftig explains: “Consider the young demographics of our audience. The more they see the show, the more they want to see it. It’s not true of every show. It probably wouldn’t work for productions that skew older. But it certainly worked for ‘Legally Blonde.’ It was so successful for them [MTV] that they came to us and wanted to do something else.”

Enter another “Blonde” producer, Amanda Lipitz, at 28, one of the youngest producers on Broadway. She felt would-be Harvard law school graduate Elle Woods (first played by Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 MGM movie) would be a great character to be at the center of a TV reality show.

“The character of Elle Woods is told ‘no’ and she has to work harder and harder in order to achieve her dreams,” Lipitz says. “I felt that is very similar to what happens to performers on Broadway. A lot of them are told ‘no’ and they work harder and harder to achieve their ultimate dream of being there.”

Lipitz sat down with Bundy, director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell, songwriters Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and book writer Heather Hach to discuss the challenges of playing Elle Woods. The musical’s casting director, Bernard Telsey, came aboard early, too.

Open calls were held in five cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Orlando, Fla., and Nashville, Tenn.

In each city, a voice, acting and dance specialist from the Broadway company was on hand to view the talent and eliminate contenders. Episode 1 started with 50 girls, who were quickly cut to 15. Soon, only 10 were left.

Viewers voted to choose the leads in “Grease”; “Legally Blonde” did something different. It has three judges, all connected with the show: Telsey, Hach and Paul Canaan, a member of the musical’s ensemble.

Bundy’s last performance will be July 20. Her replacement will be announced the next evening on the TV show. And on July 22, a new Elle Woods will take center stage at the Palace Theatre.